


Interlinked

by dahliaWrytes



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Romance, explicit for later chapters, tags will update with story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:53:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahliaWrytes/pseuds/dahliaWrytes
Summary: A 20 year old Aeris lives in the slums of Midgar with her roommate Jessie. Aeris dreams of the day she can leave Midgar and travel the Planet. One day Aeris stumbles upon a book and box of unknown seeds that change her life and start her on an adventure of a lifetime.**Generic summary for now. I will update after a few chapters.**





	1. Prologue

Ifalna scrapped the remaining seeds of the _Tanhi Atan_ into an unmarked envelope. Aeris cooed from her bassinet at the plants clinging to the sides of the walls inside their house. She was only a few months old and already showed signs of her Cetra heritage. Ifalna smiled and massaged Aeris’s chunky baby feet as she addressed the package to Cosmo Canyon. She promised Bugenhagen to mail him the seeds for safe keeping.

Tanhi Atan was known as the Star Flower when translated to modern day Gaian. It is one of few remaining life forms left on the Planet after calamity’s fall. Unlike modern flowering plants, the Star Flower has a simple nervous system. She smiled remembering how it was a source of wonder for Gast when he first saw the plant.

Ifalna explained how the flower has a highly advanced mechanism of bioluminescence attributed from the lifestream. The leaves are modified into enclosed bulbous structures that resemble lamps when they glow and a neon blueish star shaped flower emerged from nodes on the plant. The flowers are able to detect the presence of danger by sensing the emission of volatile stress hormones from living organisms. For the Cetra, the colors emitted by the glowing leaves signaled whether the landscape was calm or in danger.

Gast was fascinated by the simple fact that when a leaf was removed or fell off of its stem it produced adventitious roots from its base and started growing as an independent plant. Of course it also had seeds too, but only those with Certa blood could make them germinate. Once a single plant germinated from the seed anyone could harvest the leaves from the plant and grow more.

Gast knew there would be a huge market on the Planet for these life forms. It could replace Shinra’s Mako reactors and be used as a primary source of energy—one that would not contribute to pollution or destroying the Planet’s lifestream. He was once in an experiment able to harvest the energy from the plants to power his computer. Ever since then he replaced the electrical cables in their home with the plants. Their tiny home in Icicle Inn was proof of how nature and technology could live in harmony. There was hope after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shout out to Lyra for encouraging me to keep writing and being an awesome writer herself.   
> Read Shevirat ha-Kelim. Its absolutely amazing: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12053076/chapters/27293796
> 
> Also a humble thank you to Lilly White for Border of Taboo. Its wonderfully written and definitely worth reading: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8359507/chapters/19149433


	2. And so it begins...

Aeris’s earth stained fingers brushed across the items inside the old thrift store. She passed a faded snowboard decorated with neon pink chocobos. A bittersweet smile spread across her face. It never snows in Midgar. She walked further down the aisle of the store scanning interesting items for sale. She found a used box of 1/35 soldiers. She poked her long delicate fingers through the wrinkled flaps of the box and found three dusty toy Shinra attack soldiers inside. She pulled one of the miniature toys out, held it against the light, and squinted her eyes to focus on the tiny details of the toy. The paint and facial expression on the solider were barely visible. Back then every kid from above the plate and below in the slums wanted these toys. She smirked and placed the toy into its box amongst the rest of its forgotten companions. She continued her search and rummaged through the used book bin next to the batteries. A well kept leather book caught her eye.

She picked it up from the bin and balanced it with her palms. It was fatter than the other books there. She fell in love with it the moment she brushed her palm across the smooth yet uneven patterned bumps. Upon further inspection she saw tiny crystallized shapes inside each patterned cell. Her eyes widened. The book was covered with monster skin. The crystallized shapes contributed to the book’s unique texture. It peaked her curiosity. She gently opened the book and inhaled old memories and light musk. Her eyes caught the hint of foxing at the edge of the title page.

_Beginner’s guide to Potions by Professor G. Faremis._

She gasped sharply and slammed the book shut. It was HIM. She stiffened her posture and her muscles grew rigid. Rapid heartbeats echoed though the book as she held it tightly against her chest. Professor G. Faremis. She shut her eyes firmly to suppress tears from falling. Within the darkness of her mind she chanted the name over and over to herself. It became a mantra to her as she struggled to remember the way it sounded when it rolled off her birth mother’s tongue. She remembered mother’s descriptions of him. He had a chocolate handlebar mustache. He loved his dark circular sunglasses. He had blue ball-point pen ink stains tattooed on the sides of his palms and he smelled of acetone from working in the Shinra labs. He was inquisitive, smart, and thoughtful. He was the father she never knew. An imaginary hand washed over her mind and squeezed it gently. It was mother.

Aeris sighed, and calmly opened her eyes.

A customer gave her an odd look, “Are you alright, Miss?”

“Yes. I’m alright. Thank you.” She shook slightly from the new found discovery.

The lady was not there for too long but she caught Aeris off-guard. She had no idea somebody was watching her. The lady smiled, nodded, and continued her shopping.  
  
The book was the only connection she’d have with her father and Aeris was determined to buy it today. She bit her lip and pushed aside all the questions and thoughts swirling inside her mind about her past. She had other tasks to focus on presently and it took a lot of willpower for her to press forward. She held onto the book tightly as she walked toward the used gardening tool bin. She visited the Sector 6 Thrift Store today because she needed to replace her broken hori-hori. The old one that she received as a gift from her adoptive mother finally snapped in half after eight years of use. It was the perfect gardening tool. It was great for weeding, planting bulbs, and digging.

She suddenly thought about her hands as she dug through the gardening tool bin. She held each palm up one at a time eyeing her fingernails against the dim florescent lights. Her cuticles were damaged from the soil. She was not bothered by their appearance. Her earth encased fingers gave her hands some character. Even though she loved the lingering smell of soil on her hands and fingertips she knew it was time to invest in some gloves. It would be good for the plants. She did not want to risk contamination from the slums. She returned back to digging through the bin and shuffled aside plenty of hand trowels that were discarded by their previous owners. It was difficult to find used gardening tools. People rarely gave them up. Luckily the store imported tools from all over the Planet.

Her thin eyebrows furrowed. More trowels. She kept digging through the bin losing hope until finally she found a black sheathed hori-hori with a decent wooden handle. She pulled it out from under all the trowels and unsheathed the blade. She studied it carefully. The blade was made from carbon steel. Normal wear on the blade. She placed her fingertip on one of the serrated edges. It pricked her skin and a fat bubble of blood popped out. She sucked her fingertip absentmindedly while holding the tool to measure its weight. It will do. She removed her finger from her mouth and grabbed a box of discontinued Shinra nitrile gloves from the shelf above. She nodded. It was time to finish her purchases and leave.

Her eyes wandered through the dust particles floating around the dimly lit store. Not many people were shopping today. She realized there were three people there, including herself, the lady from earlier, and the shopkeeper—all confined within the small slum store. She approached the register casually.

“Find all the items you needed, dear?” Asked the elderly man. “Its been a while since I last saw you in here.” He smiled at Aeris gently.

She wrinkled her nose as she placed the book, hori-hori, and box of gloves on the counter. Ito’s breath smelled spicy and pungent like the wasabi served with the sushi dish at the diner.

Aeris looked amusingly at the old man. “Looks like this is all I will be whisking away from you this time, Mr. Ito.”

The old man chuckled and adjusted his eyeglasses. Tiny crow feet appeared near the edges of his washed-out blue Wutain eyes. “Well, let me look at this here…” The glasses magnified his eyes to the size of the entire lens, so much so that when he looked her way it was quite startling. He picked up the book, examined it, and placed it back down. “15 gil for the book sound fair?” He asked arching up a furry caterpillar eyebrow.

“How about 10 gil? The pages are a bit worn.” She negotiated back to the old man.

“But the quality of the book is in pretty good condition. I could sell it for a higher price, but since its you Aeris, 15 gil is the best I can do.”

Aeris frowned and tiny wrinkles spread across her forehead. She needed this book. She hoped the old man would cut her a decent deal. Ito knew that look. It meant she probably did not have enough for the other items, but he needed to make extra gil. Living in the slums at his age was getting harder as the days passed by.

“How about this, if you can pay 15 gil for the book, I will throw in this box of seeds I got from a traveller for free. Seeds in Midgar are useless, but I know you’d be able to make use of them. So how about it, kiddo?” Ito pulled out a small rectangular tin box with metal hinges from the shelves beneath the register. “The envelopes are unmarked, but I bet that’s half the adventure in gardening.” He grinned and opened the box up to Aeris. He studied her expressions as she shuffled through the envelopes and felt for various sizes and shapes of the tiny seeds as they puckered through the paper across her fingertips.

Aeris built up a slow smile. “Deal. Now how much for the used hori-hori and box of Shinra gloves?” She waited patiently for the old man’s response. She was hoping internally he’d sell them to her for a cheaper price than the book.

“10 gil for those items. Sound good? 25 gil total.” He cleared his throat and smiled.

“Sounds good. 25 gil.” With the pact made she opened up the oversized bag that hung from the crook of her left elbow and pulled out her coin purse. She placed notes and coins on the counter and smiled warmly at Ito.

“Thank you Aeris. Hope to see you sometime again.” Ito slid the items to her and she placed them inside her bag one at a time.

“You too Mr. Ito. Have a pleasant evening.” She smiled again at the old man.

With her purchases complete she turned around and headed toward the dirt stained glass door, stopped, removed a dull grey head scarf from her bag to wrap around her hair. She was desperate to wear anything to make herself look older so the men would leave her alone. She shuffled through her bag one more time to pull out her PHS. She saw a tiny envelope flash on the bottom of the screen and clicked on the button to access the message.

 

> _I’m at the bar. I have the items you requested. I’m so excited to see you again. Ttys!_
> 
> _-Jessie_

She took in a deep breath and stepped out onto the streets of Wall Market making her way toward the bar. The door closed and the soft sound of chimes and Ito’s voice dissipated into the night air.

_✧ ✧ ✧_

Above the Midgar hubbub, the honking taxis and swarms of pedestrians marched to their own personal missions. The last birds of the day wheeled in slow lazy arcs toward their nests hidden somewhere in the cityscape. This juxtaposition was lost on Midgar’s denizens. No-one looked up. The sky above slowly darkened to midnight blue but never quite black due to the light pollution from below. Dark clouds drifted into place and sprinkles of neon glowing rain fell into the city. The aroma of rain disappeared; it was buried by the chemical, diffusive, malty nuance of Mako.

The helicopter’s faded green paint was engulfed by the rain clouds as it broke into the Midgarian sky. The bright beams from its headlights grew larger as it approached Shinra Headquarters. Sephiroth removed the soft ear buds from his ears as they lowered onto the helipad below. He waited patiently for the slowing of its blades before he hopped out. It was twenty-one hundred hours and the first wave of Shinra troops returned home from their last mission to Wutai. Sephiroth’s expression was distant and calm. He walked down the helipad to the row of glass elevators. The light rain in the atmosphere diluted the smell of iron and dirt from his metal pauldrons and battle coat. Masamune was fastened to his waist. Dried blood clung to the strands of his silver locks, contrasting against the porcelain skin of his face. He looked like a savage. The rest of the infantrymen and remaining second class soldiers stayed behind to sort inventory.

He entered the cylindrical glass paneled elevator. His long spindly finger still encased in its leather glove pressed floor 49 on the number pad. The blue-green city lights of Midgar refracted through the fat raindrops that clung to the outside of the glass. He gazed into the lights enjoying the pitter-patter sounds of the rain as it scraped the panels of the elevator. His trance broke when the elevator reached its destination. With quick long strides he ignored the gasps and curious looks of his colleagues as he passed the lounge and Materia room. His peripheral vision caught the corridor of training rooms to his right and he entered the locker room and showers.

Within a blink of an eye he stripped off his battle gear. His katana, Masamune, was neatly tucked into the locker within its sheath. He placed his boots in the bottom cell. He hung his bloodied uniform into its dry cleaning bag. The stench of blood was strong but he did not mind. He acted methodically and placed a clean set of civilian clothes on the bench. He stepped into the shower and his toes flinched as they touched the chilled ceramic floor. Truth be told, his mind was in shreds; he could not get the picture of the mutilated Wutian civilian boy out of his mind. He turned the dial, old and metallic, releasing lukewarm drops that darkened his silver hair. He stood with arms pushing against the tiles and head hanging low. Dried blood from his body liquified and trickled off his face and back. His eyes were fixated on the red that pooled near the drain. He arched and flexed his toned back muscles. His upper trapezes ached. His eyes closed over and over, each time showing him the images of the boy like photographs. If there was one thing he hated about war, it was the death of children. It was an accident. An accident that could never be forgiven. It reminded him of the time a similar incident happened to Genesis. It was Angeal’s words that helped Genesis overcome his emotions. _“Try and honor them. Use this day to pay your respects and to remember them. And use today to find out how you’re going to carry on.”_

Training be dammed, he took a long shower to gather his thoughts.

He dressed in his civilian clothes: a black leather jacket lined with a removable grey hood, a fitted grey tank, and charcoal slacks. He tied his boots on. He closed his cat-slit eyes and practiced his breathing exercises. He was ready to take his baseline test.

The baseline test was designed by Professor Hojo of the Shinra Scientific department to measure any emotional deviance of First and Second class soldiers when they returned from war or emotionally compromising missions. Passing the test allowed them to enter the briefing room. Any abnormal signs from the test meant a visit to the Shinra labs for treatment. Sephiroth always passed his baseline no matter how he felt. He learned to control his emotions for Shinra long ago.

He entered a white-walled room and sat on an ordinary bar stool positioned directly in front of a large singular red lens. The lens brightened and the robotic voice of the interrogator spoke first, “First-Class Soldier S dash zero zero one, let’s begin, ready?”

“Ready.”

“Recite your baseline S-001.”

“And blood-black nothingness began to spin… A system of cells interlinked within cells interlinked within cells interlinked within one stem… And dreadfully distinct against the dark, a tall white fountain played.”

“Cells.”  
“Cells.”

“Have you ever been in an institution? Cells.”  
“Cells.”

“Does Shinra keep you in a Cell? Cells.”  
“Cells.”

“When you’re not performing your duties does Shinra keep you in a little box? Cells.”  
“Cells.”

“Interlinked.”  
“Interlinked.”

“What’s it like to hold the hand of someone you love? Interlinked.”  
“Interlinked.”

“Did they teach you how to feel finger to finger? Interlinked.”  
“Interlinked.”

“Do you long for having your heart interlinked? Interlinked.”  
“Interlinked.”

“Do you feel that there’s a part of you that’s missing? Interlinked.”  
“Interlinked.”

“Within cells interlinked.”  
“Within cells interlinked.”

“Why don’t you say that three times: Within cells interlinked.”  
“Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked.”

“Within.”  
“Within.”

“Where do you go when you go within? Within.”  
“Within.”

“Has anyone ever locked you out of a room? Within.”  
“Within.”

“Where do you go to when you go within? Within.”  
“Within.”

“Where is the place in the world you feel the safest? Within.”  
“Within.”

“Do you have a heart? Within.”  
“Within.”

The interrogator paused and a few minutes later responded back, “We’re done. S-001 you can proceed into the briefing room.”

The hydraulics system of the camouflaged white door to the side of the lens hissed and opened. Sephiroth walked into the briefing room.

“Hey Sephiroth! You made it! How did it go?” Zack asked him as he entered the room. He nodded at Zack and stood in front of Lazard’s circular desk.

“What’s next on the list?” Sephiroth asked nonchalantly.

Lazard folded his arms across his chest and looked up at Sephiroth. “Why hello to you too, Sephiroth. It amazes me how you always show up quickly after a freshly finished mission.” His sky blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at him. He sneezed. The smell of Sephiroth’s spicy cardamom and sweet bergamot cologne conflicted his nostrils. “Glad you did not waltz in here covered in blood.” Sephiroth was stoic. He was not in the mood for small talk. Lazard smiled and sighed, “Well, there are some missions lined up in regards to the disappearance of Angeal and Genesis, but I am confident you want nothing to do with them, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Well…” Lazard shuffled some paperwork. “I have an important mission in the slums of Sector 6. I was going to ask Zack to take care of it, but given your particular requests, you can take care of those missions.”

Lazard slid the stack of manilla envelopes across his desk toward Sephiroth’s direction. “You will find all the information about the mission in these documents. I advice you to incinerate the files once you complete the mission.”

With no reply, Sephiroth took the documents and turned toward the main exit. Before he could vacate the premises he felt the weight of Zack’s palm on his shoulder. “I will call you later Seph. Lets catch up over lunch tomorrow.” Zack’s bright indigo blue eyes looked at him sympathetically.

“We’ll meet again soon.” Sephiroth replied. Zack smiled, “I’ll hold you to that!” and returned to finish his conversation with Lazard. The sounds of Lazard talking to Zack about Angeal and Genesis faded as he walked out of the antechamber toward the parking garage.

The rain stopped and the night sky cleared. He climbed into his onyx colored sedan and placed the mission documents on the passenger seat next to him. Masamune was resting there too. He threw his bag of clothes into the back seat. He opened the glove compartment to pull out his box of black clove flavored cigarettes. He’d have to drive to the Sector 6 plate and grab the train to go to the slums. It’d take him an hour and half. He’d be there by midnight. He did not mind staying in motels at the slums. A mission was a mission. He did not want to go back to his penthouse in Sector 2. He wanted to keep his mind distracted from the recent disappearances of his close friends, Angeal and Genesis. He lit a cigarette and started the car. The sweet toxins filled his lungs and he exhaled his relief in a cloud of purple grey smoke. It swirled upwards out the window and into the night sky. Sephiroth shifted gears and drove into the city lights and onto the highways of Midgar.

_✧ ✧ ✧_

Ito was ready to close shop when the buzzer of the extension phone went off like an annoyed rattlesnake. He scooped it up, listened for a moment, and spoke into it, “The seeds are planted. In time the girl will grow the stems.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel that I have so much to say, but a mere note will have to suffice. I am new to writing fan fiction. I have always been on the receiving end as a reader. Final Fantasy VII was a game I played back in 1997 when I was a mere middle schooler. It was such an epic game at the time and I am happy to see how it has become a timeless classic over the years. I remember reading my first fan fiction of Aeris x Sephiroth as a romantic pair from T’Shael and Black Genie’s website. I was hooked! I even submitted some fan art to her website, because why not? 
> 
> So truly the inspiration to finally write up a fan fiction of my own is derived from all of you fantastic fan fiction writers before me. It takes a lot of time and energy to share your imagination with other people and quite honestly its brave. Cheers to you all. 
> 
> This particular story is really inspired by my work in reality (underlying theme: green energy), and various science fiction not associated with FFVII, such as Blade Runner (including 2049). The baseline test fit so well with what I want to do with this story. The link to that test can be found here: [Baseline Test | Off-world: The Blade Runner Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia](http://bladerunner.wikia.com/wiki/Baseline_Test). I changed Aeris and Sephiroth’s ages to match the explicit content of the story. Assume she is 20 and he is 27. The story begins in Crisis Core. 
> 
> The goal is to update the story every Sunday, however I have a chaotic life outside of my hobbies. I assure you, I will not abandon the story. I have a rough draft of the chapters and an outline to completion. So hang tight. It will be updated at my own pace. 
> 
> I always imagined Sephiroth as the kind of guy who smoked and someone who listens to synthwave while cruising in his car. The following is a link to one of my fav. tracks from The Midnight in instrumental form: Shadows [The Midnight - Shadows (instrumental) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEBd3SgBDM) . I like to imagine he’s listening to it while driving on the highway.
> 
> Leave me a comment. Share your thoughts. Thanks in advance!


End file.
